A. Area of Invention
The use of beta or alpha particles of radio-isotopic elements that are typically by-products of nuclear fission are used as a power source for the generation of electricity.
B. Prior Art
Beta particles are a category of electrons emitted from a neutron of an atomic nucleus during its decay. Over a period, known as the isotope half life, a neutron of a decaying nucleus is converted into a proton, increasing by one the atomic number of the nucleus thereby increasing by one step in the periodic table an atom subject to such decay. The decay of the neutron may, in rare circumstances, result from a natural process. However, most such decay is the result of exposure of the nucleus to extreme conditions of heat and exposure to other sub-atomic particles, as often occur during nuclear fission. Such external conditions induce an instability into the basic quark structure of the neutron which normally consists of one so-called up or (u) quark and two so-called (d) or down quarks. In beta decay, the intra-nucleon electro-weak force W degrades one of the d quarks into an u quark creating, during the half life of the isotope, a structure of one d quark and two u quarks, that is, the quark structure of a proton. This causes the one step up in the periodic table of the atomic number of the affected nucleus.
The modern theory of beta decay was developed in 1934 by Enrico Fermi, but was not experimentally proven until 1956 by T. D. Lee and C. N. Yang. This process, as now understood, can be expressed by a Feynman diagram showing one of the d quarks of the decaying neutron transformed by an electro-weak interaction W into an u quark, from which reaction is released one electron and one anti-neutrino. This additional particle is necessary to express beta decay in terms that do not violate the principles of conservation of energy and momentum in sub-atomic interactions.
A neutron, if unassociated with a nucleus, will decay within a half life of about 600 seconds, but is stable if combined into a nucleus. When so combined with protons and other neutrons, it is governed by the nuclear strong force, and beta decay of the neutron would normally occur only over a period of many years, often centuries. When a neutron has fully decayed into a proton, a mass difference (decrease in energy of about 1.29 Mev) results, this representing the energy equivalent of the mass of the neutron which is lost during the above-described conversion of the d to an u quark. It has been shown that the beta decay electron carries away most of said energy difference in the form of kinetic energy and a strong magnetic field around the electron.
The present invention seeks to make effective and efficient use of such high energy electrons resultant of neutron decay and the electro-weak interaction W within the quark structure of the neutron which causes the decay.
Since the most accessible form of beta decay neutrons is that of the radio-isotopic by-products of nuclear fission, the instant invention may be appreciated in terms of a new use of these by-products, e.g., iron 55, nickel 63, strontium 90, tritium and others, as a power source or input, to a microwave-like radiation device known as a magnetron tube or simply a magnetron. The magnetron, as a source of microwaves, has existed since its discovery in the 1930s by Randall and Boot. The magnetron became a building block of what is now termed cavity magnetron microwave radar. The magnetron is also the basis of the standard microwave oven and may research applications.
Methods and apparatus for the direct conversion of radiation of radio-isotopes including beta decay electrons, to electrical energy was first suggested in 1988 by the physicist Paul M. Brown, and is reflected in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,433, directed to a resonant circuit battery using a radio isotope inside a coil of a tank circuit. The invention of Brown sought to employ the so-called beta voltaic effect to access the electrical potential associated with energy in the magnetic field of high energy beta electrons. See <www.rexresearch.com/nucell/nucell.htm.> Isotopes which emit beta electrons occur within fuel rods of fission reactors and in the processing of uranium 238 and plutonium. Beta electrons are negatively charged and travel at a high velocity, approximately ¾ the speed of light (0.75 c), and exhibit an energy spectrum up to 0.782 MeV with a maxima at a lower level. Such spectra varies between isotopes.
In the nucleus of most naturally occurring elements, neutrons cannot decay because there is no available quark orbit for a decaying quark to occupy. As a result, most naturally-occurring nuclei are stable. However, when subjected to the high energy and extreme heat of nuclear fission, the d quark does decay, thus rendering the neutron unstable. When this occurs, the nucleus emits at least a beta electron and an anti-neutrino. Electrons emitted in this fashion thus exhibit exceedingly high levels of energy since they must possess sufficient energy and velocity to escape from the quark orbits of the decaying neutron of which they were a part. As has been determined by Brown and others, the magnetic energy associated with beta radiation electrons is several orders of magnitude greater than either the kinetic energy of those electrons or the static electric field energy of the same particles. As such, each emitted electron of a radio-isotope is associated with a powerful magnetic field which, if absorbed by a load, causes the field to collapse thus producing an EMF known as the beta voltaic effect. This field may however be used in a magnetron environment to produce a high energy rotating field and to induce microwaves, as is set forth below.
One of the primary drawbacks to the use of nuclear power is the radioactive waste which results from its fission process. Much of the waste of the system is in the form of “spent” fuel rods which cannot efficiently sustain the fission reaction process in the reactor. After serving their useful lives, the spent fuel rods are removed from the reactor, but the fuel rods still possesses a significant amount of their original energy capability, particularly in the electro-weak force W that acts within the nucleons. Even after removal from the reactor, the fission process continues in the fuel rods and strong force (inter-nucleon) energy continues to be released, mainly in the form of kinetic energy which is subsequently converted to heat. Some of this energy will however affect the neutron nucleons, stimulating neutron decay which gives rise to the beta decay noted above. Thus, the fuel rods continue to produce energy as they undergo radioactive decay, meaning they are still “hot” in terms of hard radiation. The rods, therefore, must be isolated until they are no longer radioactive, which can take thousands of years or more. There are no final procedures for the storage of spent fuel rods and other radioactive material. That is, no steps are underway to make use of the massive amount of radioactive decay energy, including beta decay energy, that exists in radioactive materials, especially in spent fuel rods and plutonium by-products. Thus, there remains a need for a method of safely and efficiently utilizing the decay particles of radio-isotopes, both beta and otherwise.
Other attempts have been made to convert radioactive decay energy to electrical energy, however, none have proved commercially viable due to their complexity, minimal power generating capability, or lack of durability. For example, a solid-state device which seeks to employ the energy associated with alpha and beta particles at a Fermi junction is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,839 (1998) to Baskis. It teaches that the energy associated with alpha and beta particles are in a range of 1000 to nearly one million KV (1 MeV) per particle, that is, six to twelve orders of magnitude greater than the voltage of an electron at rest. Radio-isotopes as a power source in micromechanical, i.e., nano-structures, are addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,479,920 (2002) to Lal, et al. The primary deficiency of these devices has been degradation of the structures by long term exposure to the high kinetic energies of the beta electrons. As such, physical durability is a key design factor in building a commercially viable beta electron device which, preferably, would take the form of a battery that is size-scalable up or down as a function of application.
Lindner (U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,120) teaches that the parameters of isotopes include a DC voltage and a form of energy that can be converted to a type of electrical current. He also teaches that such energy can be stored and that his design will repel emission when sufficiently charged. In addition, he teaches that isotopes have an impedance and how to calculate their impedance. Lindner however does not suggest that his emissions can be used to power a resonator of any type including those found in magnetrons, or that isotopes produce instantaneously accelerated electrons. In addition, what differentiates my invention is that the impedance of a cold isotope cathode affects the interaction space inside a magnetron and, more precisely affects the capacitance within that interaction space. This understanding is a critical aspect in designing a nuclear magnetron as taught herein.
The cold cathode in this invention uses an isotope (isotopic cathode acting as the emitter of energy) that produces instantaneous or W force accelerated electrons and/or alpha-rays and should not be confused with hot cathodes that produce thermionic electrons from heat that have to be accelerated using high external voltage, i.e., thermionic emissions. Such cold cathodes can and do release beta electrons, also referred to as beta rays, or beta particles. In the case of an isotopic cold cathode, they can produce alpha rays or particles. Beta rays and alpha rays however cannot both be used simultaneously. If a cold cathode did produce both types the invention would in fact cancel the effects needed from the cold cathode. The invention's isotopic cold cathode acts like an external power supply but in EM communication with the anode block of the inventive system. The concept of hot cathode devices and external power supply therefore do not apply to any aspect of this invention. This is an improvement in design of using high voltage cold cathode isotopes to produce a power source.
No prior art known to the inventors sets forth a method or apparatus for the conversion of energy associated with the electro-weak force W, the beta voltaic effect or alpha particle emission thereof into high energy microwaves and, in turn, use of such microwaves as an input for the evaporation of liquid as an input to an electrical turbine generator or, alternatively, use of such a microwave magnetron output as an input to microwave DC generators known in the art. The present invention addresses this need.
It is to be understood that each variety of isotope (singular cathode type) used this way produces an energy spectrum specific to that isotope. Such a magnetron system can be designed for a specific isotope but will need to be redesigned to operate with another isotope. This should not be confused with the standard linearly accelerated magnetron that uses high voltage to induce the acceleration of electrons typically from a neutral tungston cathode or other hot filament type cathode.
The geometry of the emissions of these magnetron systems differ due to the linear accelerated electrons produced from a hot cathode using a heat source versus or the instantaneously accelerated electrons from a cold cathode using the W force of a nuclear isotope. It should also be noted that X-rays and gamma rays have little or no effect on magnetron type devices or how they operate. However, there exist types of isotopes produced or byproducts of X-rays or gamma rays having electron emissions that may be suitable for use with my cold cathode technology.
In most cases, cold cathodes using isotopes will generate too much noise to be used in a standard type magnetron requiring a highly stable fixed frequency device with highly stable power output. Isotopes by nature produce an erratic form of emission or output making the isotopic nuclear magnetron, as taught herein, a noise type of device having permissible frequency fluctuations and changes in output power. But, in the invention, this does not affect the efficiency or production of energy needed to produce useful power.
The publication of Cristea et al (IFA-FR-138-1975) teaches that there existed a lack of electrons available from his cold cathode in the year 1975 needed for an isotopic magnetron system to operate correctly. That is, such magnetron devices circa 1975 employed a “point contact” with small cathode areas while, although using beta electrons, could not supply a sufficient number of electrons to actually to operate a Cristea type device. Cristea further made assumptions about his device that, over time, have proven to be incorrect. That is, he did not understand the roles of the interaction space, resonators and resonator matching, or how a space-charge wheel in the interaction space would work. Nor did he fully understand magnetic arc moments for a magnetron and did not indicate the voltage range in which his device could work or with what isotopes. In my opinion, Cristea's solution would have turned an isotopic magnetron into a non-functioning device or into a neutron reactor that would transform the magnetic materials used in the magnetron into other elements, thus losing their magnetic properties and degrading the space—charge wheel (“SCW”) that he clearly did not understand. Cristea's goal was to take a standard magnetron, not designed to work within the energy range of an isotope and flood the standard hot cathode with electrons to make it work. That is, his assumption regarding how to make a standard magnetron work with any kind of nuclear fuel is not correct, since in most nuclear fuels, the effect of strong force will overwhelm that of the weak force. Cristea also does not address any power limitations, constant current issues, noise or other magnetron design factors he might use for control of emission velocity of beta electrons. Cristea thus failed to understand critical issues of performance as addressed herein.
Cristea IFA-FR-138-1975 also teaches that an isotopic magnetron will operate between a V1 and V2 voltage range. He, however, does not go into details as to how these ranges are set and operate. He also makes the assumption that his magnetron would work like a hot cathode magnetron. Cristea et al apparently had no idea as to how the resonator impedance operated at the time of his submission of the article and what needed to be taken into account. He assumed controlling electrons is the same in both a isotopic device and a hot cathode device. He was wrong in this assumption, and his results were of limited value due to his limited understanding of the underlying physics. He was correct, however, with the results he got from the device he used to do his testing. In his V1 voltage range, the lowest possible voltage of the magnetron, the operation range value is set by the magnetic field strength and the break over voltage point at which the magnetron will start to operate. His magnetrons looked like and operated like a Zener diode circuit with impedance (resistance) in them. See FIG. 31. His V2 point (the termination point of resonation). The V2 point is set by the upper values of the emission speed of the particles (voltage in his case). It is noted that the spacing between resonators must be large enough to handle the increased angular velocity of the SCW and still match all the strapping impedances of the resonators. The upper limit V2 is reached when the SCW rotates too fast for the resonators to work correctly, or that the SCW has too few electrons in it for the device to meet the minimal current for oscillation. It is noted that increasing the voltage in a standard hot cathode magnetron also increases the current at the same time. Therein, the current can go up in an exponential fashion in filament cathode magnetrons. This same statement is not true in the present magnetron since the isotopic cold cathode is constant current at all voltage levels. See FIG. 32. This is a major difference between the two types of devices.
A. L. Vitter (U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,903) teaches that a magnetron can be tuned by a mechanical means, but the concentric grids thereof are at a plane above that between the cathode and anode block and therefore cannot affect, or can only minimally affect, beta electron or alpha ray emissions from the cathode to the anode.
Vitter also teaches that by adding an external port one can change or pull the frequency of the magnetron. Vitter also indicates a magnetron can be modulated this way, but in fact only the impedance of the anode cavities can be regulated since circuitry and is external to the magnetron proper and only can bias the anode cavities, not the cathode. By using Vitter, one can compensate for frequency pull of isotope emission losses (cold cathode) over time or use isotopes in place of his method for adjusting the capacitance of an external cavity or port. Since the isotope loses power over an isotope's half-life, this is one way to compensate for frequency deviation from power loss in an isotopic cold cathode.